A certain Misfortunate Brother and his Electric Sister
by DivineDemonDragon
Summary: Mikoto as Touma's step-sister. I do not own TaMnI. Expect slow updates.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: To those already following me - this chapter doesn't mean I'm abandoning my other fics. I got this out of my system so that I can focus better on the other stories I have.  
**

* * *

 _x( "I don't want a new Papa!" cried a little girl for about the fifth time. She had short hazelnut hair and matching eyes. As she cried out, sparks literally flew from her bangs._

 _Her mother sighed, trying to find a way to convince her stubborn daughter. 'I swear, Tabigake-san, she may have my looks, but that's_ your _stubborn attitude she's got.'_

 _"Alright, fine. You don't want a new Papa, Mikoto-chan," remembering something she talked with the stepfather-to-be in question, she found a new angle of attack, and smirked._

 _"How about an Onii-chan?"_

 _._.? "Eh?" The girl, Mikoto, looked at her mother, confused by the change in subject, thus prompting the woman to continue._

 _"You see, this man Mama is seeing," she ignored her daughter's frown, "he has a son. Apparently, that boy is a little older than Mikoto-chan." She saw that she had Mikoto's attention and turned to her with a mischievous smile._

 _"So if Mama marries this man, then Mikoto-chan gets an Onii-chan all to herself!" she declared._

 _:s "An... Onii-chan..." Mikoto imagined an older boy with looks suspiciously similar to a certain super-human shounen manga hero. Shaking the image out, she made up her mind._

 _-_- "Fine, I'll come see him. But he'd better be amazing!"_

* * *

"Onee-sama!" With a jolt, pun intended, Mikoto woke up from her day-dream, seeing her school-junior and roommate Shirai Kuroko starring at her with a dissatisfied expression.

._.' "Ah, sorry Kuroko. You were saying?"

"Dear me, you really shouldn't blank out like that," said the teleporter, missing the fact that Mikoto noticed the note book in her hand, remembering that her friend had written out her plans for their outing.

Feeling rightfully suspicious, she snatched the book away and read it aloud, using her other hand to keep the panicked level 4 from getting it back.

:| "Oh, what's this? 'Operation: 'Date with Onee-sama' Step 1: Use Uiharu as an excuse to go out with Onee-sama.'" She gave the sweating Kuroko an extra shove.

}:[ "Uh huh. 'Step 2: At the first opportunity, ditch Uiharu.'" Her hand on Kuroko's forehead began to grip more tightly.

-_- "Hm. 'Step 3: Find a love hotel to _spend the night with Onee-sama in_ '(?)" The change in her tone elected a nervous laugh, which came to a dreadful end at the next line.

x| "... 'Note to self: Prepare'... Ape-traps..." Kuroko gulped, expecting a literally shocking punishment.

Instead, the #3 level 5 decided to forego shocking the girl, since they were in a certain family diner, in favor of quietly pulling her cheeks apart with a neutral face. You could still see the proverbial tick-mark on her head.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow! Onee-shama, I'm showwy, shay shomeding, pwease, ow! Doing dis shiwently wid dat fash ish mutch cweepier dan it should be, ow!"

Contrary to her public image, Kamijou Mikoto was very childish at times, especially about two things: Gekota the Frog, and her step-brother, the aforementioned 'ape', Kamijou Touma.

* * *

 _"What's wrong Touma? Nervous?" That question was directed at a young boy with dark blue eyes and black hair which he was still cleaning a bird's 'present' out of with a tissue, doing his best to ignore the stares and whispering around him._

 _:| "Obviously. I've never done this sort of thing before, Pops." The boy, Touma, was going to meet his stepmother-to-be, so he was understandably anxious. Especially once you factor in his unnatural bad luck._

 _"Neither have I. Not with children around, at least." His dad was hoping that his son would get along well with this woman and her daughter, whom he himself hadn't met yet, but his girlfriend tended to gush about._

 _._.? "Eh? Children? It's not just me?" Father and son looked at each other in surprised confusion._

 _"Hm? Didn't I tell you? This woman has a girl of her own. So you'll be getting a sister as well as a mother." Touma's eyes lit up._

 _*o*! "An Onee-chan?!"_

 _"No, an Imouto." 'So he's into older girls?' thought the father curiously, taking a sip of water. He was also trying his best to ignore the whispering, but it was harder when the subject was you own child._

 _._. "Oh...an Imouto...huh..." In his mind, Touma saw a small girl with pigtails jumping his way for a hug screaming 'Onii-chan.' He then shook his head free of the day-dream._

 _'Nah, no way my luck is that good. She's probably a little monster to go with the evil stepmother. Haha.'_

 _Feeling the call of nature, he went away from the table._

 _"Touma? Where are you going?"_

 _-_- "Bathroom."_

 _"Ah, okay. Don't take too long."_

* * *

It was a pleasant surprise that Kuroko's friend from work, Uiharu Kazari, had brought her classmate Saten Ruiko with her. Though Mikoto noticed that the latter seemed to have a problem with her own power level, seeing as how she introduced herself as a level 0.

Not that Mikoto cared. Her stepbrother was a level 0, with no prospects of getting out of there unless the scientists develop a method to gauge that weird power in his hand. She has seen firsthand how hard life was for them since Touma stubbornly refused any financial help beyond emergency funding.

"Sheesh, Uiharu, how could you make us wait so long."

°_°# "I don't think she needs to hear that from someone devious enough to use her friend as a stepping stone to try and seduce me!"

"Owowow, Onee-shama, nod de cheeks, nod de cheeks!"

"So, Kamijou-san –" started Ruiko.

:) "Ah, please, call me Mikoto."

"Eh? Ah, okay, Mikoto-san..."

* * *

 _Exiting the bathroom, Touma made his way back to his father, without watching where he was going._

 _°o° "Uff!"_

 _°.°"Wah!"_

 _Colliding with something small, he landed on his back, with a smaller person landing on top of him. Looking up, he found that this person was a cute, younger girl with short, brown hair and an Ahoge. Behind her, he could see a woman who looked similar to the girl, probably her mother._

 _"Ah, Mikoto-chan, are you alright?"_

 _XI "Un..."_

 _Only then did Touma notice their rather precarious position: the girl, Mikoto, was straddling him with her hands on his chest. When she noticed this too, her face turned bright red as she glared at the boy beneath her._

 _o_o "L-look I'm sor-"_

 _She didn't let him finish, as sparks literally came out of her bangs at him. Reflexively, he held up his right hand, fully expecting to get shocked anyways._

 _*Bzzt-bzzt – crash*_

 _Confused, they both stared at his hand as Touma's father came to see what the commotion was._

 _"Oh, Misuzu, you're here. Hm?" In response, the girl's mother, Misuzu, looked at him and exclaimed: "Ah, Touya!" Looking around, Touya found his son with a girl that greatly resembled Misuzu and smiled._

 _"Oh, I see you've met my Touma already. And you must be Mikoto-chan."_

 _Mikoto looked between the two males and her mother, piecing together the situation, as Touma just looked lost._

 _The way her Mama talked with that man, he was likely supposed to be her 'new Papa'. That man had referred to the boy as 'his Touma', ergo, this was his son. Which meant..._

 _Mikoto felt her image from earlier crash headlong into reality as she realized that she was sitting on the Onii-chan that Mama promised her._

* * *

The girls were originally going go head to an arcade, but then they came across a crêpe stand that was giving away Gekota straps to the first 100 customers of the day, so Mikoto was rather adamant about getting crêpes. (She tried and failed to hide the true reason she was going.)

Since they didn't want to stand in line as a group, it was decided that she and Ruiko would get the crêpes.

"Here you go. It's the last one," said the seller, handing Ruiko the strap.

"Huh? The last one?" The girl heard a sound behind herself, and upon looking, found the famous level 5 down on her hands and knees, looking like her teacher just told her she failed a test when she thought she aced it. ( **AN: I'm sure at least one of you readers knows this feeling. Ruiko probably does, too.** )

-_- "Mikoto? What are you doing on the ground?" Hearing that, both girls turned to see a certain Imagine Breaker standing there with a half-finished crêpe, looking at the Electric Princess.

._.? "You drop something?" The girl wasn't paying attention to him, however, as she discovered something small and green swinging from the pinky holding the crêpe.

*-*! "Gekota!" Pouncing like a tiger, she snatched the strap from his hand, landing right where she started, to Ruiko's amazement. To Touma's own lack of amazement, he dropped his remaining crêpe because of her.

-_-' "Geh, you could've asked, you know," he reprimanded the girl, "what a waste of a good crêpe. Fukou da."

xP "Shut up. You were going to give it to me anyways." She was right, he was going to give it to her, when she came to visit later, but she ended up coming here as well.

-_-" "Even so, there's something called etiquette, you ever heard of it, Ojou-chan?" Mikoto stood up and turned to him, fully prepared to counter his sarcasm.

"Um, excuse me, are you going to buy?" The three of them turned the lady in the stand. "If not, could you please make way for the other costumers?"

._.' "He's paying."

T-T "Fukou da." He didn't even bother to ask why. It would only get him shocked.

Ruiko couldn't help but stare at the display.

'Who is this guy?' she thought.

* * *

 _"So, once more. I'm Kamijou Touya, and this is my son, Touma." The parents sat at the window facing each other while the children each sat next to their parent._

 _._.' "Hi there," said the boy nervously, glancing at the girl opposite himself, who refused to meet his eyes._

 _"I'm Misaka Misuzu, and this is my cute Mikoto-chan."_

 _X( "Mama!"_

 _A waitress came over and took their orders._

 _"So, Touma," Touya turned to his son, "why don't you tell the ladies about yourself?"_

 _._. "Ah, erm, let's see, I'm Kamijou Touma, I'm in 6th grade, I'm a student in Academy City –"_

 _"Oh, you too?" interrupted Mizusu, as Mikoto finally showed an interest in the conversation._

 _Indicating the girl, the mother said: "Mikoto-chan here also goes to Academy City, though she's just in the 4th grade."_

 _:| "You," said the girl, looking at Touma, "what level are you? And what's your ability?"_

 _._.' "Level 0. No powers."_

 _x| "Liar." She pointed to his hand. "What about that?"_

 _"That?" Touya was clueless about the subject, while Misuzu remembered how that hand blocked Mikoto's electricity earlier and told him about it._

 _"You can do that, Touma?" wondered the father._

 _._.' "I didn't even know about it, honestly." Touma's mind then came to a certain conclusion about that hand, whereupon he fell silent and stared at it._

 _"Looks like those white-coats should tune their machines better, Mikoto-chan's already about to become a level 2," bragged her mother._

 _Meanwhile, the whispering was getting denser, to the point where even the girls couldn't help but notice them._

 _"Who's that woman?"_

 _"Apparently, she's Kamijou's girlfriend."_

 _"Eh? Is she okay?"_

 _"Leave it."_

 _"If they decide to live with that little monster-"_

 _"-it's their funeral."_

 _"Just like Shiina-san, huh?"_

 _Not able to bear it any longer, Touma got up from the table and ran off._

 _"! Touma!" "Touma-kun!?" Both adults called after the boy, one worried, the other worried and confused._

 _A second later, Mikoto ran after him, having caught the look of pain on his face._

* * *

"Onee-sama, what took you so – geh!" Kuroko recoiled in shock at the sight of Touma.

"Wha-wha-wha-what are you doing here, you ape?!"

-_-' "Nice to see you too, Shirai-san."

XI "Behave, Kuroko. He even paid for our part."

-_- "You forced me to."

"Um, excuse me. Who might you be?" asked Kazari, feeling left out.

"I was kind of wondering that too," added Ruiko.

._.! "Oh, sorry. I'm Kamijou Touma. Nice to meet you." He stretched out his free hand for a greeting.

"Nice to meet – wait. Kamijou?" They both looked at Mikoto. "Is he related to you, Mikoto-san?"

._.? "Yeah, he's my older stepbrother."

""EH!? Onii-san?!"" Both girls looked back and forth, not seeing the resemblance.

._.' " _Step_ -brother, okay?"

-_-' "Do you really have to emphasize that, Mikoto?" said brother looked as the little sister dubiously.

°_° "Absolutely, no prisoners," came the reply, with conviction.

-_-? "What's that even mean?" The young man blessed with misfortune had no idea what she was on about.

'They definitely behave like it,' thought Ruiko, an experienced sibling, narrowing her eyes at them, 'But there's something else in their synergy.'

Oh dear, Saten Ruiko's curiosity has found a new victim.

* * *

 _"There you are." Touma looked up to see the girl from earlier, Mikoto. Seems she found him first. Or she followed him, seeing as how she arrived a few seconds after him. They were in a public playground in his hometown, where he ran off to after leaving the diner._

 _"What was that all about?" He looked away, not wanting to think about it._

 _MIkoto felt like pressuring him, but figured she should do that after one more question: "Who's 'Shiina-san'?"_

 _"My mother..." was the sad reply, which stopped Mikoto's questioning in its tracks. She remembered how she felt when people back home asked her about her Papa for the past two years, so she decided not to press the matter._

 _"I'm unlucky." Mikoto looked at him, wondering what got into him._

 _"It's not just the occasional slip-up, every day, several things happen to me, like tripping on soda cans, getting bird poo on my head, dropping my stuff, running into someone, stuff like that, all of it at least once per day, or some of it several times every day. Ever since I was born."_

 _Mikoto saw that he was getting this off his chest and listened diligently. Though quite frankly, she wouldn't wish some of that stuff on anybody, even the bullies at school._

 _"It wouldn't be so bad if it was just me though-"_

 _"Damn straight it wouldn't."_

 _Both kids whirled around to see a man in a ruined business suit, clutching a knife in his hand. The man looked vaguely familiar to Touma, and Mikoto didn't like the way he was eyeing the boy._

* * *

"Hm?" Kazari looked behind herself at the other side of the street.

"Is something wrong, Uiharu?" Ruiko turned to see what her friend was looking at, ignoring Kuroko's ridiculous attempt at sharing her crêpe with Mikoto, who had gotten the same flavor, though Touma was hiding his amusement.

"That bank, why are its shutters closed?"

Touma, hearing this, eyed the building. His gut had been telling him something unfortunate was going to happen, and now he had an idea what.

"Shirai-san, you might want to call for backup," he told to the member of Judgment.

"Eh?"

*Boom*

A hole was blasted through the shutter, revealing three young men with ski-masks in black biker outfits, each of them carrying a bag that undoubtedly held a lot of cash in them.

"Uiharu."

"Yes!" The girl in question pulled her phone to contact Anti-Skill.

"Me too-" started Mikoto.

"Onee-sama," interrupted Kuroko, as she and Kazari put on their armbands, "This is a job for Judgment, civilians should stay out of it."

"But-" Again, Mikoto was interrupted, but this time by Touma's hand on her shoulder, holding her back. Looking back, she saw his serious face, and understood what he wanted to say. Kuroko and Kazari could handle this.

"Okay. You be careful." She knew, however, that if things went south, they'd both jump in.

While miffed that the boy was better at keeping the level 5 in line, Kuroko appreciated his action and replied: "Of course, Onee-sama."

She promptly teleported in front of the thugs. "This is Judgment! You are under arrest! Please come quietly!"

"Think you're hot stuff, eh girly? Well get a load of this!" A rotund thug swung his fist at her, only to be flipped onto his back and getting iron nails teleported into the hems of his clothes, pinning him to the ground.

"The only thing I've gotten a load of is an arrogant criminal," replied Kuroko.

"A teleporter!?"

"Don't matter. You go around," instructed the robber who seemed to be the leader, "Check this out, little girl!"

He conjured a fireball the size of his own head, ready to throw it at Kuroko while his last partner made his way around the level 4.

Touma, Mikoto and Ruiko were distracted from the battle when Kazari stopped a tour guide from going out to search for a missing boy. The three of them volunteered to do it instead, with Touma and Mikoto searching the bus while Ruiko and Kazari searched the surrounding area.

"Com'ere, you brat!" Ruiko suddenly heard this and saw that the last thug was trying to take the missing boy, who'd been hiding in a bush, with him. She looked around for the others, but saw that she was the closest person to the scene.

* * *

 _"Sorry, but, who are you?" asked Touma, eyeing the man warily. Mikoto tensed up, not sure what to expect._

 _"You don't remember me? Of course not, I'm probably just another victim for you."_

 _"A victim? Of what?" Mikoto had no idea what the man was going on about, though Touma had a feeling he knew._

 _Pointing at the boy, the adult exclaimed: "That shit's damn luck, that's what!"_

 _A baffled Mikoto watched as the man kept ranting with Touma giving the occasional comment as the adult crept closer to the boy, who slowly began to back away. None of them noticed the crowd starting to gather around them._

 _"Just six years ago, I was a grandstanding CEO of my own company! Of the verge of a breakthrough!"_

 _"CEO? Wait..."_

 _"A friend of mine, one Kamijou Touya, came to congratulate me, and introduced me to his son – you!"_

 _"That's right, we-"_

 _"Shook hands! I shook your damned hand and that's all it took!"_

 _"No, wait..."_

 _"I lost my company! My marriage! My inheritance! My home!"_

 _"Wait, please..."_

 _"And I would've gotten back at you then if that stupid bitch hadn't interfered!"_

 _"What...?"_

 _"Oh?" the man stopped, realizing the importance of his next words._

 _"You didn't know? Then I'll tell you."_

 _Breathing in deeply, he bellowed: "I WOULD'VE RUN YOUR PLAGUE ASS OVER IF YOUR THRICE-DAMNED MOTHER HADN'T PUSHED YOU AWAY!"_

 _Mikoto's mind refused to comprehend what was just said. Until Touma put it into perspective._

 _"You...killed...my mom...?"_

 _"Oh, don't you worry..." The knife was raised._

 _"You'll be seeing her_ reeaal _soon."_

 _Mikoto's mind caught up with what was said. This man tried to make Touma disappear. Just like that disease in Africa made her Papa go away._

 _But Touma's Mama, Shiina-san, went instead. She left so Touma could stay. And now the man who took Shiina-san away was trying to take him too._

 _She'd seen how sad her Mama was when her Papa couldn't come back any more. Touma's Papa must've been just as sad when Shiina-san went for Touma._

 _How sad would he be if Touma left, too?_

 _"Get away from him!"_

 _Screaming that, Mikoto latched onto the man like a koala to a tree._

 _"Wha- Damned brat, let go!"_

 _She wouldn't have that, this man made Touma the same kind of sad she felt when her Papa couldn't come home again, and she wouldn't forgive that. So she focused on her ability: Electromaster._

 _*Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt – Zap!*_

 _"Grargh!"_

 _In pain, the man fell to his knees as Mikoto let go of him and ran over to Touma, who had fallen onto his hind-side in shock, pun intended._

* * *

"Mikoto, you find him?"

"No, you?"

"No. We should probably check with-"

"Let him go!"

They turned to see Ruiko trying to wrestle a little boy away from the robber that Kuroko hadn't gotten yet.

"Damnit, let go, girl!"

"No! Go away!"

"Fine!" saying that, the thug kicked Ruiko in the face and let them both go.

Kuroko made to intercept him, but a large blur sped past Kazari towards the target.

*Bam*

A right hook sent the robber sprawling to the ground next to a car which presumably belonged to them.

Touma stayed there with his arm stretched out, watching the thug lift his face up and face him.

"Gh, don't interfere!"

He pulled out a gun from his jacket as Touma rushed in on him, and took aim.

"Watch out-!" shouted Ruiko, who saw this, when-

*Bzzt-bzzt*

Sparks flew from the gun as it was wrenched to the side, it's muzzle facing away from the incoming level 0.

"What the-" *Bam*

With a left uppercut, Touma knocked that thug out.

Ruiko turned around and looked at Mikoto, whose left arm was stretched out, her fingers in a position that suggested they'd been flicked to the side away from herself.

'She used electric magnetism to move the gun away,' she realized.

* * *

 _Looking at the girl who saved him, Touma cracked a smile._

 _^u^ "You're rather biri-biri (jap. sound word for electric zapping), aren't you?" And a joke._

 _-x- "Sheesh, you almost got hurt, why're you laughing?"_

 _"Well – look out!" Touma threw himself onto the girl, who then got some red liquid on her face._

 _"Eh?" She looked up and saw the crazed man with his knife in Touma's shoulder above them._

 _"Hah! Trying to be like mommy? Go ahead, we're better off without yo-"_

 _*Bam!*_

 _A fist silenced the man, sending him sprawling to the ground. That fist belonged to a very angry father._

 _"Leave those two alone!" yelled Touya. He then glared around, daring any of the onlookers, whom Mikoto just noticed, to object._

 _"Mikoto-chan! Oh my god, Touma-kun!"_

 _Misuzu ran over to them and gently lifted Touma so Mikoto could wriggle out from underneath him._

 _"Misuzu!" called Touya as he made to restrain then other man, "The ambulance! And the police!" He'd found the bastard who killed his Shiina, and almost took Touma too. No matter how sorry Touya felt for his old friend, he would be happy that this man would serve time for assault and murder on his family._

* * *

"You two again?" sighed Yomikawa Aiho as she beheld the five children, looking specifically at a certain pair of siblings.

o_o' "Now wait a moment-!" Began Mikoto.

°_°' "We didn't join in until the last second!" Finished Touma.

"This time," interjected the teacher, causing both Kamijous to laugh nervously.

"Actually, you shouldn't have gotten involved in the first place," she continued.

"That guy hurt our friend." Yomikawa and Ruiko both looked at Touma, who said this.

"That made this fight personal," added Mikoto, equally serious.

Rukio couldn't believe what she was hearing. They thought of her as a friend? They only just met! Kazari, who was listening, was also amazed.

Meanwhile, Kuroko talked with the pyrokinetic espser she fought, complimenting him on his power but reprimanding him softly for how he used it, asking that he reflect on his actions.

As the ambulance and Anti-Skill cars drove off, Ruiko turned to Touma grinning.

"Thanks for that back there."

^-^ "No problem."

"By the way, I'm just curious here, but what level are you?"

The siblings looked at each other before smiling wryly at her as Touma held up his thumb and finger to form a certain number.

The Sakugawa Middle School girls stared at his hand before looking over at Mikoto, who nodded in confirmation, and Kuroko, who looked away without denying it.

"That's crazy," said Ruiko.

^_^' "But true," said the other level 0.

'Well, guess that makes it all the more amazing,' thought the girl with a blush, which Mikoto and Kazari noticed. Kuroko was busy being indignant about Touma having the privilege of being Mikoto's brother and Touma... 'nuff said.

'^'# "Yoouuu!"

*Bzzt-bzzt-bzzt*

Noticing this, the elder Kamijou began to initiate a tactical retreat.

o_o' "Wha- Mikoto? Wait, what did I do now? Could you please explain before trying to-"

°.°# "Quiet!"

*Zap-Crash*

A quick bolt of lightning was negated by his hand, much to their new friends' surprise.

OoO" "Wait wait wait, can't we talk about-"

-.-*"Shut up!"

*Zap-Crash*

Giving up on negotiations, Touma grabbed his bag and made his retreat.

'o'* "GET BACK HERE YOU BAKA-ANI!"

*Zap-Crash*

°o° "GAH! FUKOUU DAAA!"

Yomikawa snorted: "Amusing as always too, I see."

Meanwhile, Ruiko grinned triumphantly. "So that's how it is."

"Huh?" Kazari turned to her friend from school.

Ruiko indicated the direction in which their new friends disappeared to: "Mikoto-san's a Bro-con."

"Hwe!?" Kazari's face turned red, as Kuroko sputtered indignantly, horrified at the thought.

* * *

 _As it turns out, the parents went looking for the children after Touya took Misuzu aside to tell her about Touma's luck and Shiina's fate._

 _The increasingly loud raving of the former CEO helped them find the children, but the revelation that that man was responsible for Shiina's death shocked them until they saw him stab Touma._

 _Touma was sent to a certain hospital in Academy City, due to the city's tendency for secrecy. His frog-faced doctor had to stitch the wound, and said it would leave a scar. The next day, Mikoto was there to visit, as well as their parents as a special occasion with Heaven Canceller pulling the strings for them._

 _Mikoto was not happy to see the condition he was in. Especially since she felt it only happened because she didn't help him properly._

 _Ü "What are you saying?" he rebuffed her as she said that, "You wanting to help me helped me more than anything." He certainly couldn't imagine any of his fellow townspeople helping him from that, sadly enough._

 _X( "But still! You even got hurt..."_

 _:) "We're family now. That's more than enough for me." Mikoto stared at him, trying to comprehend what he just said. She was family? He accepted her, even though she'd acted that way when they met? He accepted her Mama, even though the wound in his heart had been reopened?_

 _ToT "O-onii-chan!"_

 _Crying that out, Mikoto threw herself onto the baffled boy, hugging him tightly and repeating the word a few times. Their respective parent was also surprised, but then they relaxed, smiling at their children. Though while Touya was simply glad that Touma now had someone he could call family, even within Academy City, Misuzu was picturing them as the flower girl and ring boy of their upcoming wedding, trying to think of what outfits would both match each other and make the kids look cute._

* * *

 **AN: The formatting here doesn't accomodate the lesser than and greater than symbols, so I had to get creative with the smileys.  
**

 **Read & Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Since the smileys weren't exactly popular, I'll leave them out. They were more limited than I would've liked, anyways.**

 **-** **FrodoFighter** **: Before your critiques, I'll come out and say that she was thinking of Goku. Yes Goku. You know, 'a certain** _ **super-human**_ **shounen manga hero'. Also, I didn't know this for a long time myself, but Touma's hair** _ **is not naturally spiked.**_ **No, seriously, look it up.**

 **1\. Others have also complained about this, so as stated, I'll just leave them out. Just thought it'd be a nice quirk for the MCs.**

 **2\. You really think Mikoto actually takes 'no' for an answer when it comes to his welfare?**

 **3\. Thanks, gets me every time.**

 **4\. I actually agree with you there, but we seem to be somewhat alone judging from some of the anime out there. At least I'm not royally pushing it with 10-12 year-old girls that have milk spilt on them. (I'm looking at you, Ro-Kyu-Byu!)**

 **I personally suspect that Mikoto is outright** _ **genetically**_ **susceptible to falling for Touma. I mean, seriously, they're Moms and Dads are quick BFFs, her Mom approves of him, and do I need to mention that** _ **all but 2**_ **of her** _ **clones**_ **are crazy into him?! And the collective will born from that network!**

 **Did someone order a round of fluff? Yessir, it's waiting for you right after this AN. Otherwise, why would I tag this as a Family/Romance fic? Action, Comedy and Supernatural** _ **all**_ **take a back seat here.**

 **Sisters-Arc will be...next volume(s). No, you read that right, this specific part of the story ends at the Dragon's Breath Feather. I'll tell why then.**

 **I hope the same thing, though from the looks of it, she might not be the only one, I've seen a game-pic of her & Index ready to marry Touma, and you can tell it's Touma from their dissatisfied faces.**

 **-** **wildarms13** **: All my ToAru fics will follow the combined timeline of RailDex. Glad you enjoy this!**

 **-** **UnknownSoul** **: This fic was inspired by an IchiRuki Bleach fanfic with a similar setting, except completely AU, unlike this, which is mostly cannon.**

 **But of course, just beyond the AN here.**

 **I'm making a** _ **short**_ **list of the adventures that she** _ **won't**_ **be involved in due to being an esper. Obviously, these will all be B4 WW3.**

 **-** **Majin Othinus** **: Seeing as how it's so integral to the cannon plot, I do not plan on completely removing the Sisters in any of my ToAru fics. Change, yes—remove, no. Though predictably, the changes here will be more than just affecting the outcome – they will affect their relationship.**

 **-** **ShadowDeath01** **: Let's just say Mikoto's gonna hafta fight** _ **long and hard**_ **for Onii-chan.**

 **-** **Riibas** **: As you've guessed, making her his step-sister both improved and complicated their relationship. Even more so when, to my knowledge, Japanese will call incest on even two** _ **non-blood-related**_ **members of the same family getting together, and I don't just mean step-sibs, either. (They don't do that with cousins though... ._.?) If I am mistaken about this, please feel free to correct me, anyone.**

 **CAUTION! Immense Fluff inbound! Subclass: Cotten-Candy with...!**

 _10 year old Misaka – no, Kamijou Mikoto now, was on her way out of school on her first day after fall break. Just last week, her Mama and Touma's Papa had married, and while Touma had taken quickly to her Mama (more like, he went along with her weirdness, as far as the little girl could tell), she had a feeling that it would be a long time before she started to call Touya-san 'Father'._

 _Certainly not 'Papa', that one was taken._

 _"Ah, Mikoto-chan!"_

 _For a moment, she thought her Mama had somehow made it into the city just to see her (it wouldn't be the first time), but then she realized that the voice belonged to someone else. When she looked, Mikoto saw a familiar boy waving at her._

 _"! Onii-chan!"_

 _Kamijou Touma was a little out of breath, having run all the way over from school to pick up his new sister. As scared as he was that his right hand's bad luck would take her away from him at any moment, he was undeniably excited to spend time with her._

* * *

"...So how long are you gonna sulk?"

"I'm not sulking."

Having come home after being chased by his (step-)sister, Touma was currently preparing supper for them both. His mind went to the situation next door with a similar setting, except that there, the one cooking was the visiting step-sister.

'Doesn't mean I'm anything like Tsuchimikado,' he thought, 'I just really enjoy spending time with Mikoto, you don't see me singing the praises of Imoutos and Ojou-samas, even though I can't deny Mikoto's cuteness.'

He smirked.

Mikoto, meanwhile, was pretending to watch TV while in the final stages of calming down from her bout of jealousy earlier. Physically, at least.

'Goddamnit, I'm acting all clingy again, aren't I? Aren't I!? Even though I've told myself not to who knows how many times! But I just can't help it! Just the thought of one of those girls taking Touma away from me-! Waitwaitwait, no, stop, bad thoughts! Bad thoughts! Out! Sit! Roll over! Play dead!...What the hell is wrong with me~...?'

"Supper's do– Mikoto, are you okay? Why are you holding your head like that?"

"N-no reason."

He looked at her a moment longer before shrugging and setting down their food, on opposite sides of the table, then turned off the television.

With narrowed eyes, Mikoto asked: "What're you doing?"

"Huh?"

Scooting over, she insistently pointed to her left. "Com'ere."

"...You're not mad anymore?"

With a wry smile, she said: "Nope."

Leering suspiciously for another second before accepting that answer, Touma moved his dishes over next to her.

Sharing a quick smile, they both said: ""Ittadakimasu.""

* * *

 _"Onii-chan, watcha doin'?" asked little Mikoto, watching her new brother busy himself in his kitchen. Turns out their parents, mostly her Mama, had gotten some words in edgewise to the city so she could live in Touma's dorm, who immediately took it upon himself to pick her up every day from elementary school. Most of her belongings were still in her old dorm, but he would help her move them tomorrow._

 _"I'm making supper," he said, in the same way one would say 'the sky is blue'. As a level 0, he had known that he needed to make use of as many money-saving methods as he could, but after finding a certain joy in hand-cooking his own meals, he forewent instant noodles and the like whenever he could afford it. That was going to be easier, now that Mikoto was pitching in with her level 2 budget._

 _This dorm was not much different from his future one, there was enough space to accommodate the young girl. She would have to part with some stuff to save room, but she immediately asked for a full shelf for her own use. What for, she wouldn't say just yet._

 _The little girl widened her eyes. "You can cook?" Looks like her Onii-chan was more amazing than she thought. Even without the hero-spikes in his hair. Hm, maybe she could fix that._

 _"Ah, I'm not very good at it, but yeah, I can," he answered modestly, though he really didn't have a second opinion on his culinary designs, and the boy realized that his own thoughts were likely biased._

* * *

After supper, they both sat on his bed, with her in his lap and their left hands latched together, fingers intertwined.

"Remember the first time you cooked for me?"

"How could I forget, you praised me like I had invented the remedy for world-hunger."

"Well, you _are_ a good cook."

"That doesn't always turn out so well, you know. I've heard of people who couldn't improve because of their faulty sense of taste."

"Well then obviously, Touya-san and Shiina-san made sure you didn't get that."

"Right...hey."

"Hm?"

"Remember the first time you spiked my hair?"

"...(mumble)You don't seriously expect me to forget that, do you?"

Mikoto turned so that she leaned against his chest, nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck, ignoring, for once, her heated face, because of which she couldn't feel Touma's doing the same.

Despite that, he smiled, putting his arm around her in a gently tight hug, his eyes locking onto the bookshelf mostly filled with Gekota merchandise.

* * *

 _"? Mikoto, what is this?" asked Touma at their first family Christmas Party, holding up her present for him. The ones from his parents were as yet unwrapped, since he didn't want to agonize over what she got for him._

 _"It's hair gel, silly," she replied, setting the collection box from Touya next to the dress from Mama before grabbing Touma's present, which looked like a folded sheet of paper. Always save the best for last, she says._

 _Frowning in confusion, the boy asked: "For what?"_

 _Setting the still-wrapped present down, she reached for him, getting his left arm when he twisted himself around._

 _"Come on, I'll help you."_

 _"With wha- hey, don't pull!"_

 _A few minutes later, Mikoto presented Touma's new look to their parents._

 _"Oh! Nice style, Touma!" Touya was already wearing the scarf Mikoto had bought him and had brought out the camera Misuzu got him, with one of Touma's science-styled stickers on it already._

 _"Wow, now Touma-kun looks like a hero, ne, Mikoto-chan!" Misuzu on the other hand had set Mikoto's mittens aside for the moment, but had her new necklace (basically a string of bolts and nuts) and the earrings from Touya on._

 _"M-mama!"_

 _A hero? Now that he thought about it, his newly spiked hair did look a lot like that of those protagonists from Mikoto's shounen mangas. Well, aside from the obviously amateurish look of it._

 _"...Wait, heroes have to deal with all those problems happening to the world, right?! Is this some sort of foreshadowing that I'm in for a rollercoaster of trouble!? Fukou da!"_

 _"No way, you weird Onii-chan," replied Mikoto as she opened Touma's present for her._

 _"...Onii-chan?"_

 _"Hn? Yeah?"_

 _"This is...?" She pointed at the hand-drawn Gekota._

 _"Ahh, Misuzu—Mom said you liked that frog, but since I didn't have the allowance to by any of its stuff, I drew it instead. Is that—"_

 _The boy found himself with a hug-full of happy sister. "I love it, thank you Onii-chan!"_

 _'Holy crap. How long is this good luck streak gonna last?! If I'm not careful, I'll get used to this!'_

 _Nonetheless, he returned her hug as she nuzzled her face into his neck. This drawing was going with the other Gekota merchandise on her shelf in the dorm._

* * *

"...Now that I think about it, maybe you were right."

"About what?"

"Me setting you up for all that trouble."

"Wha—nononono, I wasn't accusing you. Besides, you know my luck. That stuff would've happened anyways."

"But sti~ll..."

"Actually, it's the opposite."

"?"

"Every since I met you, my troubles have been more bearable."

She fell silent for a moment, thinking: 'Not last year, they weren't...'

"Mikoto?"

"You're not gonna go sis-con on me, are ya?"

"How can you say that with a straight grin like that?! Don't lump me in with Tsuchimikado!"

"Let's skip your failed Japanese and focus on the fact that you do, actually, agree with him when he says little sisters are the best."

"Err, not quite."

"...Hah?"

"What's with that pissed off voice? I'm just saying that not just any little sister will do—"

"!"

" _My_ little sister is the best!"

"Mmmrgh! I'd shock you if you'd just take your hand off!"

"Look, just 'cause you're embarrassed doesn't mean I have to suffer for it!"

"You do if you're the one causing it!"

"Ow! My ribs! Give, Mikoto, I give! I'm at fault here!"

"There. Good boy," she said, patting his head.

"...I can't tell if I'm your brother or your dog..."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"?"

"You're the best!"

"...Are you avoiding the question?!"

"Shut up and give me a hug."

'I can't tell if she likes hugging, she almost never lets Mom, she basically demands it when we're alone, otherwise it's a no-no, and Pops still hasn't tried yet. Hurry up Pops, I need a clear answer on this!'

Not once did their left hands separate.

"Wait, weren't you just—shutting up now."

* * *

 _"Onii-chan, could you stop apologizing? It's not your fault!"_

 _"No, no, no matter how you look at it, you don't just randomly sprain an ankle in the middle of an empty road. And where did that soda can come from, anyways?"_

 _The two step-siblings were on the side walk on their way home, Mikoto sitting down to Touma's right due to a hurt ankle, Touma crouching down because he inspected it and knew why it happened—she had grabbed his right hand and subsequently tripped on an empty can rolling across their way when he tried to shake her off._

 _The little girl was failing to convince the boy that he was not to blame, since he would hear none of it. She had seen firsthand how most people reacted to his strange luck, and quite frankly, it pissed her off. Superstitions or no, he clearly wasn't doing it on purpose._

 _Now, how could she make Touma feel better and satisfy his unnecessary guilt?_

 _"Carry me."_

 _"What?"_

 _"If you say it's your fault, then take responsibility. Carry me!"_

 _"Where?"_

 _"The hospital, of course! And then home, obviously! Or did your head also slip on a can?"_

 _He couldn't help but laugh at that, even as she sparked at him (which he literally waved away)._

 _"Alright, alright. As you wish."_

* * *

"Need me to carry you?" Touma asked teasingly as he walked her to the Tokiwadai dorm.

Instead of responding, she stuck her tongue out at him with closed eyes as she walked slightly behind to his right.

They came upon the entrance a few minutes before her curfew, something they had practiced with trial and error for almost a year now. And they most certainly remembered the errors.

Turning back to Touma from the entrance, Mikoto raised her left hand, showing off a perfectly circular, white scar centered beneath the gap between her ring and middle fingers.

Touma returned the gesture, revealing an eerily similar scar on his own left hand.

"See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

* * *

 _Breathlessly, 13-year-old Mikoto arrived at the hospital in District 7 where Touma had been admitted at. She dashed to the reception and let them know she was here. She didn't need to ask which room he was in._

 _"How is he?!" she asked the frog-faced doctor._

 _"He's fine, just...you should see for yourself first," he suggested._

 _Immediately, she burst into the room, startling Touma._

 _"Jeez, Mikoto, don't scare me like that!"_

 _It took her a moment to respond._

 _"Don't scare_ you _?!_ I'm _the one who got told that you were in the emergency room!"_

 _Though evidently, that was no longer the case, despite the many bandages that she could see._

 _So why had the doctor used that vague response?_

 _"What the heck were you doing, anyways?!"_

 _"Well, I...huh?" during his response, his frown at her behavior became a look of confusion, "I was, uh, helping...someone, I think. Strange, I can't remember. It's all kinda hazy."_

 _Catching the girl's eye, Heaven Canceller motioned her to come out._

 _"Just a sec, be right back," she said, earning a nod in return._

 _"As you can see, physically, he's perfectly fine. He lost a lot of blood, but thanks to his charge, he was kept stable enough for an emergency-transfusion."_

 _"What do you mean, how bad was it?"_

 _"I'll be frank."_

 _The doctor to a deep breath._

 _"According to the onsite surgeon, he almost didn't make it."_

 _"..."_

 _"In fact, if the girl with him hadn't been a telepath, he wouldn't have. She stabilized the blood pressure in his brain enough for a safe transfer."_

 _"..."_

 _"Unfortunately, this came with a rather sad side-effect."_

 _"...His memory?"_

 _"Not just that one. If the mind is like a computer, and the memory portion like a memory card, then her specific place in it is crippled."_

 _"Wha...how..."_

 _"He will never remember her. Every time they meet will be the first for him, and he will instantly forget her name, face, voice, words, everything. At best, he will get a vague sense of déjà vu."_

 _"..."_

 _Stunned from the large amount of information she received, Mikoto walked back into Touma's room._

 _He just noted her, opened his mouth, but closed it again._

 _One does not simply make small talk after three months of receiving the cold shoulder._

 _With her face in her hand, one question rose to the forefront._

 _"...Why?"_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Why didn't you call me, or text me, or..."_

 _"Why should I?"_

 _She looked up in shock, not just because of the words but more so because of the tone he used, which was anything but hostile, as he looked out of his window._

 _"You made it pretty clear that you didn't want me causing trouble for you anymore."_

 _Instead, he sounded depressed, sad, lonely..._

 _"What kind of brother would I be to not respect your wishes?"_

 _Self-deprecating._

 _She wanted to slap him, even had her hand up already. She wanted to scold him, tell him how stupid that was._

 _Then her eyes fell on his right hand._

 _And it clicked._

 _He didn't believe it was her fault._

 _Not this incident, nor even her recent behavior._

 _He blamed his hand._

 _His luck._

 _Himself._

 _"I...that...no..."_

 _He looked her way again, wondering about her sudden change in tone. It was all the warning he got before she ran up to him and hugged him, tightly._

 _"Wha—Mikoto!?"_

 _He had thought his luck with her had run its course. So why was she acting like this?_

 _"That's not it!"_

 _Mikoto broke down in tears at the realization of what she'd done._

 _"I was, I was trying to be dependable, to not be a bother, or a burden! I didn't want to seem like a clingy little sister who'd just be more trouble for you! I didn't, I, *sniff* I didn't mean to, to, p-push you away!"_

 _Touma dumbly held onto the girl as she tearfully apologized._

 _"I'm sorry! Onii-chan, I'm shorry, I'm sho shorry!"_

 _"You, you don't hate me?"_

 _"NO! No, I don't, I never could! We're family, you idiot!"_

 _The boy himself teared up as the revelation settled in. He held her in a tight, but gentle and heartfelt hug, the same that he would always give her from then on, unfettered by the doubt that had plagued his mind all of these years._

 _Thereafter, Mikoto had her first face-to-face meeting with Shokuhou Misaki, who declared her (basically eternal) animosity towards Mikoto. (More specifically, she said that she could only forgive her if Mikoto could fix Touma's brain damage, and they both knew she couldn't.)_

 _She also admitted that Touma's convictions were the only reason Mental Out hadn't exacted revenge on the Railgun in lieu of erasing her existence from the memories of everyone important to her, or something along that line (aside from the fact that it wouldn't work on Touma, followed by him suffering for Mikoto's sake, which Misaki_ didn't _want)._

 _This made Mikoto feel even worse, because even without actively doing it, Touma was protecting her._

 _Even though she didn't deserve it._

 _Because_ it was her fault that he almost died _._

* * *

"Mikoto?"

"Wah!"

A few days later, Mikoto met Touma again at the Seven Mist Mall, having separated from her friend Uiharu Kazari to secretly try out a cute set of p-jays (well, assuming one liked Gekota).

Her step-brother came upon her with a familiar little girl in tow.

"Ah! Tokiwadai Onee-chan, it's you!"*

"Eh? You're...that girl with the bag."

"This girl here got lost. I'm helping her find her mom."

"Helping out another girl? Why am I not surprised?"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. We'll be going, then."

"Wait a moment, I'll come with."

"Nono, even I can do this much by myself."

"Are you kidding? With your luck, you'll get into a misunderstanding with the mother and need saving from her by her kid."

"...Why can't I think of a good retort for that?!"

"Um..."

They both turned to the little girl as she spoke.

"Are Onii-chan and Onee-chan a couple?"

Sputtering red-faced, the two of them were a little quick to deny that.

"Wha—no! No we're not!"

"N-no, no, wha-wh-what gave you that idea?"

"You look like those couples on TV."

"Ah, no, no, you see, Onii-chan here is Onee-chan's Onii-chan."

"Eh? Onee-chan's Onii-chan?"

She looked at their faces.

"You don't look like it."

"A-ah, you see, my Mama and his Papa married each other, so now we're siblings."

"Eh? What about the other Mama and Papa?"

They both fell silent at the innocent question, before Touma replied in a small voice.

"They both went to heaven."

Mikoto nodded, prompting the young child to apologize.

"I'm sorry. Did I make you two sad?"

"It's okay," Touma waved of her concern, "it was long ago."

Looking at his sister, he decided to take the little girl elsewhere.

"Let's go look for your Mommy, 'kay?"

"Okay. Bye, Onee-chan!"

"Y-yeah, bye."

"See ya later, Mikoto."

* * *

 _In late November of the third year since Touya and Mizusu's marriage, their (step)son paid a visit to his hospital despite being in perfectly good health._

 _"Kamijou-kun, what seems to be the matter?"_

 _"Well, doctor, it's...about Mikoto."_

 _Heaven Canceller laid down his pen and turned towards Touma, whom he gestured to sit._

 _The boy did so, and looked back outside, where they could see the Tokiwadai student sitting, throwing glances into the open door towards her step-brother, as though he could disappear at any moment._

 _"Ever since that incident, she's been...well, paranoid for me."_

 _"Hrm, for instance?"_

 _"If I'm not around her, or send her regular SMSs during school or at home, like every half-hour or so, she starts to freak out, sending me messages asking about where I am, or what happened. She frets whenever I trip over the sodacans and whatnot, or if I run into more serious trouble. Like, last night, she found me being chased by delinquents, as usual."_

 _"You're the only person I know who would consider that normal."_

 _Touma brushed off the doctor's attempt at humor, hissing: "Doc, she almost_ killed _them!"_

 _"..."_

 _"I actually had to hold her, calm her down and drag her away before Anti-Skill got there!"_

 _"Sounds like she should visit a psychiatrist. Though that would leave a mark on her record."_

 _"Exactly, I don't want her getting flak for... anything, actually, but certainly not because of me."_

 _"I daresay she'd disagree on that point."_

 _"?"_

 _"Think about it. She distances herself from you, causing you to feel guilt and respect her 'wish' by not asking her for help when you needed it – and don't say you didn't, young man, you almost died there._

 _Wouldn't you feel_ personally _responsible for that in her situation?"_

 _"So, she is doing this because..."_

 _"Guilt. Which leads to the fear of a repetition. Hence her...extreme caution for your wellbeing."_

 _"Isn't there something I can do? Without involving someone else?"_

 _"Scientifically speaking, no. If she will not, or cannot, talk to you about it, or her friends, and speaking to professionals is out, she will need some other way to cope with this."_

 _"...scientifically, huh?"_

* * *

After the last Graviton Bombing, the two siblings met up again at a certain vending machine.

"You totally should've taken credit."

"What for? As long as everyone's fine, who cares about credit?"

"Well, I caught the perpetrator, so no more bombs."

"That's a relief."

"And as a reward, you're cooking my favorite tonight."

"Why are you rewarding yourself at my expense?"

"What do you mean 'expense'? It's the brother's privilege to treat his sister."

"Hai, hai, I'll be seeing you later, then."

"Hehe, cya."

* * *

 _"Touma?"_

 _The week before Christmas, Mikoto was sitting in Touma's apartment in confusion as he moved things in his living-room/bed room around to make space. He also retrieved a sharp peeling knife from his kitchen as well as a first-aid kit._

 _"What are you doing?"_

 _Before replying, he pulled her over to the middle of the room and sat her down, seating himself across from her. By this point, Mikoto was getting increasingly nervous, which showed itself in her breathing and on her face. Touma placed a hand on her shoulder._

 _"Hey, calm down," he started, "look, I get that you've been worried for me lately, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't appreciate your care. But even you have to admit that it's getting a little out of hand." Mikoto looked away._

 _She knew what he was talking about. But..._

 _"I know...I'm t-trying to take it easy, but then I think of all the things that could happen to you and—"_

 _His finger stilled her lips, and she looked him in the eyes again._

 _"I get that," he reassured her, "That's why I've...thought of a little something."_

 _Her face screwed up in confusion._

 _"You? Thinking?"_

 _"Oh, har har."_

 _He took up the peeler in his right hand, holding out his left palm._

 _"Let's make a pact."_

 _"A...pact-?"_

 _Cutting into his palm, Touma carved a circle centered beneath the gap between his ring and middle fingers, taking up as much of the palm as possible._

 _"! What are you doing?!"_

 _Ignoring her, he finished it up, then held out the peeler to her._

 _"Here, you too."_

 _"Huh?"_

 _"Think of it as a contract, signed in blood."_

 _"..."_

 _Hesitantly, and eyeing his injured hand, she accepted the knife, and after an encouraging nod from Touma, mimicked his earlier action on her own hand. Seeing as how she was not as used to physical pain as him, she winced as she kept carving._

 _Only later would they realize that they had somehow managed to carve perfect circles. Albeit that hers was smaller due to her smaller hands._

 _When she was done, Touma took the bleeding hand and held it in his, intertwining their fingers. In this way, the two blood circles intersected each other._

 _He held their hands between them, consciously placing his right well away from the whole thing._

 _"...What now?"_

 _Prompted by Mikoto's question, Touma took several deep breaths, going over his words before speaking. Seeing that it helped to calm him down, the girl mimicked him again, until they both fell into an unusual breathing rhythm, which caused small pricks of pain in random places across their bodies. The boy did not let that distract him, however._

 _Her eyes widened, as she took in the pledge that was spoken, one that promised an exchange of support, protection and reliance, whether physical, logical or emotional. It prompted her to repeat the pledge back to him._

 _For whatever reason, Imagine Breaker rang out several times during this exchange, and the painful prickling increased right before each time. Even so, as Mikoto finished, they both felt something that relaxed them. Though they did not know how, they could each feel the other in a way that did not correspond to the usual biologic senses of the body._

 _That day, Mikoto's irrational paranoia stopped, as she and Touma had gained a new sense that they respectively named 'Mikoto/Touma Sense'._

* * *

 **... a layer of onions, followed by a sweet apple! And with that, the grand majority of my world-building is done. The flashbacks certainly are. And next chapter, we'll jump right into the climax of the Level Upper Arc.**

 ***This address is acceptable from children that are a little younger (less than ten years difference) than the addressee.**

 **Read & Review, please!**


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